Jennifer Lawrence and Darren Aronofsky Pose (Together!) as the Actress Reveals What She Loves About Him
Throughout their nearly year-long courtship, Jennifer Lawrence and her mother! director, Darren Aronofsky, have seemingly gone to great lengths to avoid sharing details on their relationship — until now.
The Oscar-winning actress, 27, tells PEOPLE at the Wednesday night premiere of their film in New York City that she was “excited” about working with the Black Swan director who is not afraid to push boundaries.
“That’s what I’ve always loved about him. I was such a huge fan of all of this work. I just think he’s so bold and unafraid and that’s exactly what I saw,” Lawrence says of her boyfriend. “That’s exactly what I witnessed — even more so.”
Aronofsky is also in awe of his star and partner, the 48-year-old tells PEOPLE he is constantly blown away by her talent.
“You don’t really need to push Jen, she really always jumps for the goal and dives full in. A lot of times it was holding her back. Just saying, ‘hey, we don’t need that much.’
“She just has so much talent. She’s a hurricane, a tornado and an earthquake of emotion and it just comes pouring out of her.”
The director says he actually never thought Lawrence would agree to do his film.
“I remember getting the phone call that she might be available so I went down to Atlanta and I remember complaining to my producers, like, ‘she’s never gonna do this movie. It’s too crazy, too different.’ But then when we hung out, she really got the idea. She understood the concepts and she was in. And she hasn’t stopped with her loyalty to the film since then.”
The famous duo, who are rarely seen standing close to one another in public, finally closed the gap on Wednesday night.
Despite the apparent physical distance over the past year, Lawrence hasn’t shied away from praising her working relationship with the director. At a Toronto International Film Festival press conference on Sunday, she joked that Aronofsky is “bold and brave”— and maybe a little twisted.
“It was an instant yes before I even read anything,” the Oscar winner said of joining the film. “He told me his ideas and I thought they were brilliant and unique and challenging. I’ve been a fan of his for years — I think he’s bold and brave, and I think I said brilliant.”
She continued, “But I’ve been a fan, so once he told me the ideas floating around in his head I said yes. Then I got a script and when I read it I threw it across the room and told him he had severe psychological problems. But it’s a masterpiece.”
The movie tells the story of a young wife (Lawrence) married to an older poet (Javier Bardem) who is tormented after mysterious visitors (Michelle Pfeiffer and Ed Harris) arrive at their isolated home.
mother! hits theaters Sept. 15.
with reporting by ALE RUSSIAN
